Connector structure



0 :t. 19, 1943. L. A. KEMPTON CONNECTOR STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 15, 1942 Inventor- LesIie A. Kempoon, L-l flaw 7612M Hi 5 AttoT-nes.

Patented Oct. 19, 1943 h CONNECTOR srnuormm I Leslie A; Kempton; Chicago, assignor to Ed-l i I ison General Electric Appliance Company, Inc.,

. Chicago, 111., a corporation of New York 7 Application October 15, 1942, Serial No. 462,135

I This invention relates to. connector structures, more" particularly to connector structures for joining a pair of electrical conducting elements, and it has for its object the provision of an improved structure of this character.

While it is not limited thereto, this invention isespecially useful in providing an electrical connection between a rigidly mounted device such as a switch or other control element, and a omductor which is connected to a power source or controlled load. And it contemplates an improved connector structure for interconnecting such'members which will positively lock the members togethen'and yet will permit their ready separation when desired; and also such a structure which'has a simple and inexpensive construction.

- For a morecomplete understanding ofthis invention, reference should beha'd to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a vertical central sectional view illustrating connector structure arranged in accordance with this invention; and Fig. 2 is an expended view illustrating the various elements of this connector structure and the positions which-theseelements occupy relative to each other, the elernents being shown inperspective in this view. W

'Referring to the drawing, this invention has been shown as applied to a connector structure ID for interconnecting a conducting element H of "a control switch I 2, and an electrical conductor Here, the conducting element II is rigidly mounted in the switch structure l2, while the conductor i3*is flexible and willbe connected witha'suitable source of power (not shown) or with a controlled load device, such as an electri cal heating element of a range (also not shown). WThe connector structure I!) comprises a cylindrical hollow shell Mwhich has a closed lower end l5; as viewed in Fig. 1, and which at its other end is provided with an enlarged section It; Between the large section l6 and the body of the shell 14 is ashoulder' l1; The. structure further. comprises a ,s'econdcylindrical hollow shell it which is arranged't'o be slipped'over' the closed end of the hollowshell l4 intelescopic relation withit, as shown inFig'l. v H

The two shell members 14 and I8 are connected respectively with the conductingelements I l and [3, as will be pointed out ingreater detail here in-ai'ten-and, when th two electrical conneotion'between the two elements l l and I3; ;Suitable means ar provided forlocking I are fitted together they constitute the means for establishing the the two shells ["4 andi8 necting relation of Fig. 1; I This locking means comprises an elongated latch I9 which is mounted'in theshell I4. This latch has a lockingelement -20-which is intended to be projected througha slot 2! provided for it in the shell I 4; anda slot 22 provided forit in the shell It, the shells are in their connecting positions shown in' Fig. 1; =-The,tW0 slots 2| and 22, as shown, are

together in their con formecl in' the sidewalls of the shells between their ends. I i

The latch Wispr'ovidedwith a curved surface 23 between its ends whichisffulcrumed upon the curved surfacel'la of the shoulder IL The latch is held against the fulcrum |7 by means of a flat spring 24 which'is mounted on a disk 25 that rests upon the shoulder! 1, as shown in Fig. 13' The spring 24, a's shown, extends inwardly into the body portion of the shell l4, and'there it engages a shoulder Zt provided on the latchat the side of the fulcrum toward or end I-l5 of the shell so as to'holdthe latch on the fulcrum and to forceit' against the wall 45, as shown. The member 25 is. inthe form of a broken ring, the twoends-being separated to form a space 25a between them, and the spring 24 extends radially across a diameter of as shown.

The member 25 is held in'its position-against the shoulder. l1 b 'means of a Washerfl. This washer 21 is provided with a slot 28 registering Withthe 0pening'25a in the ring member 25 and 1thtesliz openings receive the upper endv !9a of the act Mounted above the Washer 27 is a base or support 29 of a'terminalscrew 38. The base 29, the washer .21, and, the support 25 for the spring all are rigidly clamped and secured together by providing on the-topof the enlarged section IS an inturned flange 3| which clamps these members against the shoulder;- "this flange maybe formed in any suitable way, as by spinning the upper partof the enlarged section 16 mwardly over the base 29. Preferably and as shown, the enlarged section Iii, as well as the parts 25, 27 and 29 housed within it, will be formed as complementary non-circular elements. In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated, all of these members are given a hexagonal shape. Because of this arrangement it is impossible for the parts to move relative to each other and thereby become displacedfrom their proper operative positions.

the ring,

. e pe tion 0 th de i flter i in the two "slots being in registry when adjacent the closed a 'ment, the latch is member 30 will be inserted through an opening 32 provided for it in the switch base l2 and an opening 33 provided for it in the conducting element H, and it will be secured to these-members in electrically conducting relation with the element H by means a nut 34. This nut not only secures the element l I, but it also functions through the terminal to mount the terminal structure HI upon the switch 12. The other conducting member l3 will be secured to the outer shell l8. through the medium of a tubular protuberance 35 on the shell and which receives the member, as shown; the member i3 is secured in the tube 35 in any suitable way, as by welding or swaging. j

Normally, the spring 24 acts against the shoulder 26 to force the latch surface 23 against the fulcrum l1, and also to force its lower end, as viewed in Fig. 1, against the closed wall l5 of the inner shell II. The opening 25a in the member 25 and the slot 28 in the washer 21 function to prevent side-wise or twisting movement of the latch in its shell l4. When the latch is in its position shown in Fig. 1,,the slot2l assists in preventing lateral displacement of the latch,

When it is desired to interconnect the members H and I3, the outer shell I8 is slipped over the closed end of the inner shell H, andwhen it is moved over it, its upper edge engages the locking element 20 to force it inwardly. To facilitate this action, the latch is provided-with an inclined surface 36 which extends downwardly and inwardly from the locking element 20 to the lower end of the latch, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. When the edge of the shell 18 engages the surface 36, the latch is forced inwardly in acounterclockwise direction, and upwardly so that it assumes its dotted line position of 1; the latch thus in a sense floats upwardly and inwardly as viewed in this figure. Because of this arrangeinoved easily and smoothly by the outer cylindrical member. The .upward movement of the latch is limited by the engagement of its upper end with the bottom surface of the head 29 of the terminal screw 30. Preferably, this upper end will be rounded, as "shown, to minimize friction between these members when they engage.

This upwardand inward movement of the latch 18, of course, stresses the spring 24, whereby .it will snap thelocking element 20 outthrough the slots 2| and 22 to its locking position of Figs. 11 and 2 when the slot 22 registers with the slot 21. When the latch is in this position, it rigidly locks the two shells l4 and 18 together. However, if it be desired to disconnect them the latching element will be pushed inwardly to release the :oumr shell which may then be withdrawn.

Preferably, the-outer shell will be provided with a longitudinal slot G l'runnin-g from the bottom to the top thereof and the :side ppos-ite the'slot 2 2; This permits the sections of the cylindrical member to spring somewhat, whereby it fits the shell Hi more tightly. In other words, the diameter of the external shell 18 may be made substantially equal to the external diameter "of the inner shell 1 4 whereby when themembersare telescopecl together, the outer member will be stressed so as to grip the inner one more firmly terminal 30 to the conducting many modifications may be made, and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the" true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Connector structure for electrically conducting members comprising, a pair of terminal members constructed and arranged to be received in telescopic relation, slots in said members that are brought into registry when one of said members is moved telescopically over one end of the other to bring the members into operative relation, a latch on said other member, a fulcrum on said other member upon which said latch is mounted for pivotal'and sliding movement, and spring means carried by said other member forcing said latch toward said one end and against said fulcrum and outwardly through the slot in said second member so that when said one member is moved over the other it engages said latch to pivot and slide it on said fulcrum'to move it bodily inwardly away from said one end and'also back through the slot in the second member, and

" then releases it when said slots are brought into registry, whereupon said spring means forces it down and around said fulcrum to force it out spring to move it out through said and thereby effect a good electrical connection through said slots to lock said terminal members together.

2. Connector structure for electrically conducting members comprising, a hollow terminal shell having a slot in a side wall thereof, a latch in said shell, holding means for said latch including a stop on said shell, a fulcrum in said shell-upon which said latch is pivotally mounted and also slidably mounted for bodily shiftable movement toward and away from said stop and a spring in said shell engaging said latch to hold it against said fulcrum and against said stop, and the latch when held in said position having a locking part emerging from said slot, and a second terminal shell arranged to be slipped over said hollow terminal shell and when so moved engaging said latch to force it in said slot and bodily shift it away from said stop, and said second terminal shell also having therein a slot v which when brought into registry withthe slot in said firstmentioned shell frees said latch to permit said 7 slots to lock said terminal shells together. I

3. Connector structure for electrically conduct: ing members comprising, a hollow terminal shell closed at one endand having a slot in a side wall thereof, an elongatedlatch in said shell extending from end to end thereof, a fulcrum in saidshell at its other end opposite said closed-end and upon which said latch pivots, a spring in said other end bearing on said latch so as to force it against the fulcrum and also against said closed end .of said shell, and the latch when/held in said position having a locking part emerging from said slot, and a second terminal shell arranged to be slipped over said hollow terminal shell and when so moved engaging said latch to force it in said slot and away from said wall and having therein a'slot which when brought'into registry with the slot in said first-mentioned shell frees said latch to permit said'spring to move it out through said slots to lock said terminal shells together.

4. Connector structure for electrically conducting members comprising, a hollow terminal shell closed atone end and having a slot in a side wall thereof, an elongated latch in said shell extending from end toend thereof, a fulcrum in said- 2,332,319 7 shell at its other end opposite said closed end and upon which said latch pivots, said latch having a shoulder thereon on the side ofsaid fulcrum adjacent said closed'end, a flat spring in said other end bearing on said latch so as to hold it against said fulcrum and to force it against said closed end, and the latch when held in said position having a locking part emerging from said slot, and a second terminal shell arranged to be slipped over said hollow terminal shell and when so moved engaging said latch to force it away from said wall andslot and having therein a slot which when brought into registry with the slot in said first-mentioned shell frees said latch to permit said spring to move it out through said slots to lock said terminal shells together.

5. Connector structure for electrically conducting members comprising, a hollow terminal shell closed at one end and having a slot in a side wall thereof, an elongated latch in said shell extending from end to end thereof, a fulcrum in said shell at its other end opposite said closed end and upon which said latch pivots, said latch having a shoulder thereon on the side of said fulcrum adjacent said closed end, a fiat spring in said other end bearing on said latch so as to hold it against said fulcrum and to force it against said closed end, a disk holding said springin itsoperative position an having an opening receiving the other end of said latch, and a washer holding said spring in its operative position and also having a slot registering with said opening and receiving said other end of said latch, and the latch when held in said position having a locking part emerging from said slot, and a second terminal shell arranged to be slipped over said hollow terminal shell and when so moved engaging said latch to force it in said slot and away from said wall and having therein a slot which when registry with the slot in said hollow shell frees 40 said latch to permit said spring to move it out through said slots to lock said terminal shells together.

6. Connector structure for electrically conducting members comprising a first hollow shell closed at one end and having an enlarged section at the other so asto define a shoulder at said other end, and said shell alsohaving a slot in its side wall between said ends, an elongated latch in said shell fulcrumed on said shoulder, the ends of. said latch extendingv in opposite directions from said shoulder, a flat disk in said enlarged section resting on said shoulder and having a spring tongue extending toward said closed end and engaging a shoulder on said latch to hold said latch against said fulcrum and to force one end of thelatch against said closed end, said latch having a locking element projecting through said slot when it is held by said spring against said closed end, a washer in said enlarged section resting on said spring, said washer and spring having openings therein for receiving the other ,endof said latch, a connector also in said enlargedsection resting on said washer and closing said openings over said latch, means holding said connector, washer and disk against said shoulder, and a second hollow terminal shell constructed and arranged to be slipped over the closed end of said first hollow shell and when so slipped engaging said locking element to force said latch upwardly and inwardly to permit uninterrupted movement of said second shell on the first and said second shell also having a slot in its side wall which Whenregistered with the slot in said first shell releases said latch to permit said locking member to be projected through said slots by said spring, whereby said shells are locked together.

LESLIE A. KEMPTON. 

